After about a year, I returned to Chandranagar Government Primary School today. Chandranagar is about 3 km. from where I live, in an urban slum. Last year, there were 280 students for 7 grades and 7 teachers. This year, there are 330 students, 8 grades, and 5 teachers? Maybe 6 1/2 (two have been recently appointed by another charity in the last few days). The children and the teachers remembered me from last year, and it was slightly surreal seeing all of these kids, one year older, slightly bigger, slightly rowdier, and still not learning much.
The situation at Chandranagar has been quite rough in the past year-- 3 Asha appointed teachers gone, one new headmistress come and gone in a month, another long-standing government appointed teacher switched out to another school, and then 2 recent appointments by the government for a school desperately in need of teachers. The 5th grade class is now taken underneath a tree. But apparently the tree causes a lot of noise blowing with the heavy wind at times, and the teachers are afraid that branches will fall on the children!
I was greeted with the usual "Good Morning Miss!!" and smiling faces. I was really surprised to have remembered the special handshake that they do at the end of the day. After spending less than an hour there, I was already left in a classroom of 8th graders, alone, and instructed to do some English with them. We read a story together, with the students competing for their chance to read, some struggling, some reading each word very well but having absolutely no clue what it meant. At times I would stop and ask the class, in either English or broken Kannada, what "ocean," or "frightened," or "peak" meant, sometimes having to draw diagrams on the board.
One definite improvement from last year to this year has been the nutrition and midday meals situation. Last year, the mid-day meals provided by the government came infrequently, if at all on time, and were typically tasteless and void of nutritional value. The teachers always brought their own lunch. This year, an NGO called Akshaya Patra, in conjunction with the Government of Karnataka (GOK), is feeding children through the kitchens of the ISKCON temple. The GOK only pays one rupee (~2.5 cents) per head out of the cost to feed the children through Akshaya Patra's Midday Meals, the rest of the cost is covered by other donors. Needless to say, these kids are now getting fed better tasting food in bigger quantities, and apparently even the teachers eat it as well.
These kids are absolutely adorable, of course, but it is very troubling to see just how much of the day was characterized by classrooms stuffed to capacity without teachers.
When I asked about advocating for more government teacher appointments, the HM told me that government teachers are appointed from a group of teachers that are interested in transferring locations. The teachers get the option of choosing which school they would like to work in, and often choose schools close to home. So, when the HM requested 5 new teachers from the Block Education Officer, they only brought in 2 because only two chose to work in Chandranagar School.
One of the most troubling situations, apart from the lack of basic needs in the school-- adequate teachers and space-- is the 3rd grade (III Std.). There are over 60 third standard students in one classroom, and according to the headmistress, maybe only 10 students are at the level they should be, the rest are quite far behind. This is apparently due to the chaos of this past year. When these children were in II Std, their teacher (Asha hired), left in October, and there was no new teacher for II Std. until the following February. The reasons for leaving were probably for the right reasons (see last year's blog for a full account of the drama that went down), but these children suffered a lot without a consistent teacher for so long. So many of these small children that used to be so quiet have now grown bigger and more rambunctious, certainly difficult to control all at once. The headmistress had to tell them, as I sat to visit their classroom, "Behave so 'Miss' can go back to America and say what nice children there are here."
The GOK has also instructed Chandranagar School to hold upper primary classes up to the 8th standard now, as last year only went until the 7th. To keep students from dropping out, an entire grade was added, and one additional teacher certified to teach upper level science and math was appointed by the GOK. When I was in the 8th grade class, I noticed that one of my favorite kids from last year, Selvakumar, was not in the classroom. He was a little troublemaker sometimes, but a sweet kid that had hopes to start his own business named after the headmistress, "Padmaja Electrics." I later asked the HM where he was. Apparently, his father had suffered from some illness, and is no longer able to work. Selvakumar has now left school and become the "working man." Apparently he is working in an aluminum factory. He is probably 13 years old.
I asked the HM what I could do for them, because apart from writing a follow-up report on the school, I'd like to spend my free time there doing whatever I can. Part of me feels helpless, yet empowered to do something for a school lodged in a broken system. The GOK has now established that English should be taught from the 1st grade, yet no one is currently teaching English to these children, with not enough teachers to go around. The HM gave me the new 1 std. English workbook and a teacher's guide to go with it, and got very excited at the thought of me teaching English to the tiniest of the lot. I'm not a teacher. I don't know a thing about teaching. But there is a need, so I'm reading the instructors guide and studying up. I also need to learn some more basic Kannada, fast. That would make things a lot easier. But still, I can't help but feel troubled by it all-- this school needs serious changes, not quick fixes.
Doing research on how NGOs should be investing in government schools, and then acting as an NGO player in a government school itself creates an interesting work dynamic in India. Many things are familiar from last year, and some of the same things I debated with myself then are just as relevant one year later. In a city and a country with an 8% growth rate, construction and development occurring rapidly from one year to the next, the middle and upper classes growing wealthier by the minute, it is also startling to see just how much things have not changed, even deteriorated, in the government schools.
After about a week in Delhi, I am now back in Bangalore. I had a really nice time in Delhi, since I last wrote, Neelmoy and I visited Old Delhi and got to see a lot of the more traditional sights and sounds of the city. We visited a mosque, the Jama Masjid, and climbed one of its towers. The tower had a tiny staircase twisting up hundreds of feet, and once you got to the top, there was a small area to stand and sort of hang on to the grated windows to see all of Delhi.
In Old Delhi we also got to ride the bicycle rickshaws. A guy literally has a cart attached to the back of a bicycle, and you are slightly elevated to have a nice view of the chaos around you. It's amazing how these skinny guys can pull so much weight biking around all day long. Neelmoy and I both think that if India recruited some of its athletes from this population, with proper nutrition, these guys would be winning medals. I read similar musings on a NY Times blog, "Two for the Road," where they wrote about bicycles in Africa, and how they are used for both transportation and income.
Yesterday I left Delhi for Bangalore. As soon as I got to the airport, I felt more at ease knowing that I was relatively familiar with the place, and maybe 10% proficient in the local language, Kannada. It's nice to be back though, in my old room at Mantri, and to see familiar faces again. The sounds of the city are also very familiar, as the nearby temple is now broadcasting vocal music and some sort of talking along with the typical clanging of the bells on the loudspeaker.
I'm also excited to go back to the school that I worked in last summer, but from what I heard, things have deteriorated and there are now more students and fewer teachers than before. I'll go on Thursday and report back after that. Until then... tata!
So I've already spent three days in Delhi, and there is so much to tell! I'm staying with family friends in Noida, a suburb of Delhi of approximately 3 million. Settling into the heat was interesting-- its about 100 degrees on average this week, and the humidity is so high that you sweat like crazy just standing outside for five minutes. It's like a sauna that you don't have to pay for, shedding pounds is no big deal, just give yourself thirty minutes in the sun. As soon as I stepped out of the plane from Bangkok, the smell of Delhi hit. I haven't been here in over six years, but I remembered the smell right a way-- kind of a mix of smoke and trash and heat and bodies. It settles in your stomach and you get used to in a few days. Each city has its own smell, and its funny how powerful and distinct they are. Even my room at Northwestern had its own unique smell, one of our friends put it as a "mix of spices and antique shop." Classy.
Delhi is huge, and it makes the traffic incredibly better than in Bangalore since things are so spread out. Here, six lanes are made into eight, while in Bangalore, three are made into twelve. On Wednesday, Neelmoy (the son of my mom's graduate school roommate) took me around to Khan Market, and we visited FabIndia for the first of what I'm sure will be many, many times. Neelmoy got some of what apparently, as rated by CNN, MTV, and many food magazines and newspapers, was the best street food in Delhi. I had a bit, which probably wasn't a very good idea. Then we went to "Barista Creme," a high-end Starbucks-type place with waiters and interesting coffee concoctions. I was very happy. Then we ventured to Dilli Haat, an outdoor market with local crafts and art for sale, and I got a few gifts and had my henna done on my arm. There are plenty of artistic, emo photos by Neelmoy which I will upload shortly.
Yesterday, we went to the Garden of Five Senses, which is this nice park with interesting sculptures and artwork all around. I had my palm read for a whopping 100 rupees (~$2.50, but seriously, that's a lot), and the swami-ji was surprisingly on for most of it. The most accurate thing he said, with utter confidence, was that I had 2 years of schooling left, and that I was going to be a "disseminator of knowledge," and kept emphasizing work in education. Apparently, I will be a self-made woman, very rich and famous, with three kids (one that will give me a lot of trouble), and that I will have a "love marriage" to a nice Indian man. I will also be constantly fearful of the "evil eye" upon me, that threatens my health and that of my family. He offered to sell me the sacred stone that will protect me from the evil eye, but I politely declined. So, close friends and family, watch out.
Today we saw the beautiful Baha'i Lotus Temple in the sweltering heat, but it was lovely just the same. But, ironically, the better stories from today come from Neelmoy and my "adventure" to run some errands in Noida. We needed like 5 things-- cheese, chicken, oil, milk, coffee. We went to 3 different places to find the cheese, one other place to find the chicken. There must have been a million stores crammed into this tiny area, with cars, and auto rickshaws, and 3-wheel, old-school bike rickshaws going in every direction on both one and two-way streets. Neelmoy and I drove into this tiny one-way lane that was blocked at the end, and somehow, with like a nine-point turn, we managed to get out without hitting any a) cars, b) 3-wheelers, or c) people. The most memorable incident was when we backed into an enormous pothole. Essentially, it was a crater in the ground, at least a foot deep. After the back wheel fell in, I was at a loss and thought we were going to have to get 10 people to lift the car out. But the banana vendor nearby just motioned for Neelmoy to turn the wheel (I'm sure he had seen many other cars in a similar predicament), to maneuver our way out. As Neelmoy revved the engine and turned the wheel, water sprayed everywhere and a street child nearby had a laugh. Eventually, we found our way out and got the hell out of there. It was fantastic.
I'm really enjoying my time here in Delhi. I get stuffed with three meals a day, not helped at all by Neelmoy as he adds additional food to my plate with a side-to-side nod of his head and a "eat more beta!" Sigh. Jetlag is also slowly wearing off, and I'm getting re-acquainted to this country again. I'll be back in Bangalore in a few days. Should be a sweet summer.
So, here I am again, in an airport--but this time its in a new city, new country--Bangkok, Thailand. I have another ten hours to kill before my flight to Delhi. I thought of venturing outside the airport, but I'd have to go through the hassle of Immigration and Customs and then pay the apparent 700 baht ($20) taxi ride to the city. I know, excuses excuses, I should be doing it anyways, but after over a day of traveling now, I don't really feel up to the challenge. I'll experience the real Bangkok in 8 1/2 weeks anyways.
The airport is beautiful--sleek, modern, and overpriced. I paid like $3 for a coffee, and somehow I knew I was being ripped off. I'm trying to resist the temptation to get a massage for $15, but after another 5 hours go by, I probably won't be able to. The plane ride from Los Angeles was really nice actually, Thai Airways is sweet. You have plenty of space, tons of movies to watch on your own personal screen, pretty decent Thai food, and really good service. I sat next to a Punjabi cashier named Seva from Fresno, and I helped him fill out the immigration card. On my other side was a quiet Thai girl, and then an American study abroad student on his way to India. I always like people watching on planes. You definitely get a wide assortment. The 17 hours went by pretty nicely because we took off around midnight, and after 2 Tylenol PMs, dinner, and a glass of wine, I was out. It was seriously a miracle.
It was surprisingly shocking as I watched the image of the little plane flying over the map of Southeast Asia as we made it closer to Bangkok. I just spent a quarter learning about all of these places, I have the geography memorized to the T, but it felt so weird to know that I was actually on this side of the world now. Thailand has now been under yet another shift to military rule (in a peaceful coup a year ago), though there has been some agitation from former Prime Minister Thaksin supporters for his return, and moreover, a return to democracy. This is a country where old youthful pictures of the nation's revered king, King
Leaving for India was hard, mostly because it finally marks the beginning of many adventures in the coming year. I am excited. I have no idea what to expect, what all I'll be doing, what impact I'll make or have made upon me. But I'm sure it will be something. This last year certainly had its ups and downs, but I think in a lot of ways, I finally began to solidify in my head what is really important to me, which, as cliche as it sounds, is to be part of a movement taking place all over the world and in a million different ways, to educate people with the hope that doing so will empower the silenced to speak (in the words of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed).
